Balladeer’s Blog examines American Flying Ace Eddie Rickenbacker as we lead up to another November 11th, now called Veterans Day but formerly known as Armistice Day since November 11th, 1918 marked the end of World War One.
EDDIE RICKENBACKER – “Fast Eddie” Rickenbacker was first known as a race-car driver who competed in four Indianapolis 500s before the U.S. entered World War One. Upon America’s entry into the conflict Rickenbacker enlisted in the Army and was in France with his unit by late June 1917.
Fast Eddie’s mechanical abilities – honed working with engines during his racing days – kept him grounded as a mechanic for several months. During that period Rickenbacker learned to fly in nearly every spare moment. Eventually he got his wings and took to the air with America’s legendary Hat in the Ring Squadron (the 94th Aero Squadron).
Eddie made Ace – five confirmed kills – with less than a full month between his first kill and his fifth. Lieutenant – eventually Captain – Rickenbacker scored his sixth verified kill on May 30th, 1918 before getting an ear infection which kept him out of the air for a few months. Many more kills lay ahead of him. Continue reading
Yes, it’s once again Guy Fawkes Day, the day Balladeer’s Blog celebrates figures who became symbols of the exact opposite things they represented in their actual lives! 
“Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood.” 
Read more of this animal’s own words and you will see what a callous, unfeeling political fanatic this hate-filled scumbag was. He never wanted to overthrow dictatorships to help “the people”, he just wanted to overthrow them to install dictatorships more to his liking.
THE IACCACI BROTHERS – In the 1960s young American men would head to Canada to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. During World War One a number of young American men headed to Canada to serve in British Military Units because the U.S. had not yet entered the conflict. 
Even if you hate Donald Trump I have no idea how you can possibly think he is worse than the corrupt white-collar criminals arrayed against him. 
Taibbi also stated “My discomfort in the last few years, first with Russiagate and now with Ukrainegate and impeachment, stems from the belief that the people pushing hardest for Trump’s early removal are more dangerous than Trump. Many Americans don’t see this because they’re not used to waking up in a country where you’re not sure who the president will be by nightfall. They don’t understand that this predicament is worse than having a bad president.”
As a sign of the times, Quaker Oats had developed two new types of breakfast cereals but rather than name the pair themselves, they went to advertising agencies and Jay Ward Productions, creators of Cap’n Crunch, to come up with two advertising mascots for the new cereals. 
In a gimmick that the General Mills Monster Cereals mentioned above would later imitate, the animated Quisp and Quake would be rivals, each one insisting that their cereal was clearly the superior product. That tongue-in-cheek rivalry was even more successful than the Quaker Oats people had hoped.
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